How SRK was caught and bowled at Wankhede

Allegations, counter-allegations. Clarifications, counter-clarifications. That's been the aftermath of SRK's alleged drunken brawl at the Wankhede stadium. Here's what MiD DAY has learnt of the actual brouhaha.

According to police, at around 12.15 am on Thursday, following the awards ceremony, Shah Rukh Khan along with the brothers Ali, Mohammed and Karim Morani, and an unidentified number of children, headed to the NSA Road gate, which leads from the Mumbai Cricket Association premises to the Wankhede stadium.u00a0The men were allegedly taking the children onto the pitch to play for a while. Police said Vikas Balkrishna Dalvi (52), a security guard with the stadium stopped them. The men then allegedly manhandled Dalvi, pushing and shoving him, while Khan abused him in foul language.

Ravi Sawant, MCA treasurer

Free-for-all?
Meanwhile, Ravi Sawant, who is the treasurer of MCA, arrived on the scene. Khan allegedly abused him as well. This led to a tussle between the MCA guards and Shah Rukh's bodyguards. A while later, assistant commissioner of police Iqbal Shaikh, under whose jurisdiction the stadium falls, reached the spot. Khan allegedly abused Shaikh and asked him to arrest him. Shaikh tried to calm the actor down. According to Dalvi's statement, Khan reeked of alcohol.

Nitin Dalal, MCA Jt secretary

At about 1.30 am, MCA officials sent a letter to the local police station, detailing a complaint against Khan. Police instructed them to send Dalvi to the police station and recorded his statement in relevance to the case.

Confirming that Khan was under the influence of alcohol, Shaikh said, "We have requested the MCA to supply us with CCTV footage. For now, a non-cognisable offence under sections 323 and 504 of IPC has been registered. A decision on whether to modify the charges will be taken after reviewing the video." The case has been handed over to inspector Avinash Shingte for further investigations.

What the law says
Section 323: Whoever voluntarily causes hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Section 504: Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person, intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Legal views
Advocate Rizwan Merchant said, "To take any action where the complaint is non-cognisable and sections 504 and 323 are applied, police will have to approach the courts with a private complaint or a police report. Otherwise, they cannot take any action." Advocate Mohan Pillai said, "Both offences are bailable. Police cannot take action unless they get prior permission by referring the matter to a magistrate."